Entire town of Milford, Texas, evacuated after fiery pipeline explosion

Matt Pearce

A small town about 50 miles south of Dallas was evacuated out of caution Thursday after officials said a 10-inch pipeline exploded and sent flames and a plume of smoke into the air visible for miles around.

No injuries have been reported, Milford Fire Department Chief Mark Jackson told the Los Angeles Times in a phone interview.

Jackson said officials were waiting for the fire to burn out instead of actively fighting it. A lieutenant with the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office told the Dallas CBS affiliate they expected it would take 24 hours for the fire to burn out.

Milford has a population of 728 people.

Helicopter footage from the scene showed a mountain of flame rising out of what appeared to be some kind of small industrial site surrounded by large fields, far from other structures, though there was at least one home within several hundred feet of the fire.

Local media reported it was a natural gas pipeline. WFAA-TV reported a drilling rig was at the site, and the local Fox affiliate reported the pipeline was owned by Chevron.

Abandoned trucks surrounded the blaze, some of them scorched. The smoke plume was large enough it showed up on National Weather Service radar, the service reported.

UPDATE ~ Fire is still burning in Milford after a gas line explosion... no injuries reported at this time... pic.twitter.com/TK1v8DMk1c